Unbreakable
by gryffindorgirl98
Summary: *sequel to Unexpected* Scorpius Malfoy was a bad listener. Rose Weasley would be the first one to agree with that. So why did it take so long for Scorpius to stop listening to what went against his desire?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

Songs I was listening to while writing: Walls by All Time Low, Rude by Magic!, and Landfill by Daughter

Rose's POV:

The Leaky Cauldron was packed full of an abnormally large crowd of witches and wizards on a Saturday night in the summer. I stood leaning against the doorway, searching for elbow room amongst the mass, and staring across me at the boy I had allowed to buy me a drink.

"I thought you said you had a good time, Rose." Elliot Hornby moped, staring at me with eyes like an owl's; big and round. Unlike an owl's, they were a startling icy blue-grey.

"I did, Elliot." I responded, sighing uneasily. I tapped my wand against my leg. "I just don't think I'm looking for anything really lasting right now."

His face dropped. "Are you sure I can't buy you another firewhiskey?" He asked in a somewhat pitiful way. I quirked up a corner of my mouth, glancing at his messy brown hair and freckles that reminded me of Hugo.

"I'd rather just go home. I might see you around again though?"

"Yeah, I guess. You need an Apparition partner? Make sure you get home alright?"

"I'll be fine. Have a good night, Elliot." I exited the Leaky Cauldron, trying not to pay too much thought to the way Elliot looked— for lack of a better word— put out. After all, he had been very sweet. And he was endearingly clumsy, having knocked over another wizard's drink twice and dishing out several sickles to pay for the replacements. Maybe he was too sweet.

Outside, it was warm and slightly humid. I quickly crossed the street, passing a group of Muggle women who were all stumbling crookedly and laughing loudly.

I reached the street corner with the light post that was what the Muggles called "burnt out". Really, it was a prop, made for wizards to have a dark spot to Apparate in and out of London easily and without being seen. I thought of the little flat, really only miles away from the Leaky Cauldron and within walking distance, and turned on the spot, closing my eyes.

Seconds later, after the rather uncomfortable sensation of being pulled and twisted that I would never get used to, I tapped the lock of the front door to the flat Dominique and I shared with my wand and stepped inside.

"Rosie!" Dominique exclaimed immediately upon seeing me. She was standing in the kitchen, which was adjoined off the hallway from the front door. She held two bottles of what looked like butterbeer in her hands and her bright blue eyes were shining. "How was your date?"

I smiled warmly. "It was nice. Elliot's pretty funny." When he's not trying to be, I thought to myself, recalling several smashed drinks and his spluttered apologies.

"That's good! Well, are you going to be seeing him again?"

"No, I told him I wasn't really interested in a second date." I reached for one of the butterbeers in Dom's hand, but she quickly held them out of my reach.

"Why not? And you'll have to get your own. Fletcher is visiting." Her face lit up on the mentioning of Fletcher and I smiled knowingly, winking at her as I shouldered past her into the kitchen to grab my own butterbeer out of the fridge.

"I don't know. He wasn't that interesting. He only talked about work and Quidditch _and_ he's a Cannons fan. It was like being on a date with my dad." I added, staring through the fridge for a butterbeer. Dom had taken very much to cooking for the two of us once she had discovered cooking was a lot like brewing a potion. The fridge, though magically enlarged on the inside to make more space, was full to the bursting with ingredients for various recipes. I finally recovered a butterbeer from behind two heads of lettuce.

"Oh, I wish you could find someone you liked, Rose!" Dominique whined. I took a swig of butterbeer, relishing in the sweet, almost bitter taste.

"I'm fine on my own." I insisted. "I'm going to be interning soon and I'll have a lot to think about. A boyfriend would be way too much on my plate." Dom looked unconvinced. "Didn't you say Fletcher was here?"

Dom shrieked quietly and sheepishly smiled before dashing out of the kitchen. I listened intently. I could barely make out the voices of Fletcher and Dominique and the clinking of glass— I assumed they had made a toast of some sort. Fletcher had been over at the flat almost every day this week and I knew Dom loved every minute of it.

Dominique had finally gained the attention of Fletcher Patterson, resident Ravenclaw dreamboat, on the last day of our seventh year at Hogwarts. She and her boyfriend since sixth year, Colin Finnegan, had decided to go their separate ways and see what they were like with other people and basically, without each other. She pretended she didn't really care but I knew she was a little upset. She had really been in love with Colin. Then, Fletcher had noticed her on the train and I hadn't seen her all the rest of the way home.

I stayed in the kitchen, sipping my butterbeer and thinking. It had felt like ages since our seventh year even though it had only been a few months ago and it felt like even longer since our sixth year when things really changed for us all. Dominique had learned how to love someone instead of pine after someone. James, my older cousin, had learned what love really was. I smiled when I thought of him and his girlfriend, and our long-time family friend, Lacey Jordan living together in Puddlemere.

I took a longer sip of the sweet beer when Scorpius Malfoy's face appeared in my memory. My sixth year, I had learned what it felt like to really feel pain. Broken bones were nothing compared to a broken heart. But I had pushed aside those feelings by the time my seventh year began. I was in no shape to be moping instead of working toward my NEWTs.

My mum and dad were proud of me when I came out with my ten desired NEWTs, more than anyone else in my class. I graduated Hogwarts with top marks but more than anything, I was just glad to be rid of my school years.

My interest was brought back to the present when I listened again and heard silence. Fletcher was definitely still in the flat as I hadn't heard the front door. Smirking, I tiptoed out of the kitchen and around the bend of the hallway. I shuffled my feet as I made my way past the couch and held back a laugh when Fletcher and Dominique, who had been connected at the mouth, separated abruptly.

"Hello Rose." Fletcher said, his face turning red.

"Evening, Fletcher."

"Oh Merlin, Fletch. Look at the time!" Dom had turned her attention to the clock on the end table.

"I've got to get going then. Early shift in the morning." Fletcher said somewhat dejectedly. Dom gave me a look that was clearly telling me to leave. I laughed out loud and disappeared into my bedroom.

Ten minutes later, Dom glided into my room and jumped on my bed, lying on her stomach.

"You're not funny, Rosie." She whined, her chin resting on her hands. I flipped through the papers my mum had prepared for me in order to know more about the Ministry and my internship.

"I thought I was hilarious. My whole life has been a lie, hasn't it?" Dom smacked me with one of the throw pillows littering the bedspread.

"You sound just like Scorpius." She grumped, and then froze. I smiled at her, biting my cheek.

"It's alright, Dom. I'm not going to fling myself off the nearest bridge just by hearing his name."

"I know you won't. I am sorry, though. It just slipped out. I ran into him and Albus in the Auror office yesterday getting the papers for training."

I tried hard not to think about Scorpius and my cousin Albus, who was also my best friend. They had been living together ever since the start of the summer not far from where Dom and I lived. All of us wanted to be close to the Ministry for easy access through the entrance, after all.

I had thought I would feel more surprised when Scorpius and Albus had become best friends in seventh year. However, some nagging thought kept telling me I had been expecting it all along. While the two had been bitter rivals through five years of Hogwarts, they were so alike that it was only a matter of time before they would become inseparable once they were introduced. Albus was civil and tried not to sit too close to me if Scorpius was with him. He didn't realize that Scorpius and I wouldn't have talked to each other even if he had been sitting right next to me. That had ended long ago.

"I really thought you were going to like Elliot." Dom said, picking at a loose thread on the pillow in her hands and pouting.

"It's not that I didn't like him. I just don't really want a boyfriend in the first place. I'm going to be working soon and I have lots of other things to be thinking about. And I have you." I added at her sour expression which brightened her face.

"If that's the case, you might just be sharing me with Fletcher." She chirped. Her giddy smile was infectious and soon I was smiling with her.

"Has he mentioned anything official yet?"

"Not yet, but he has hinted." She hugged the pillow close to her chest now. "He said he might want to bring me by his parents' house soon and he wants me to see where he works."

"Not to mention he's over here every hour of the day charming your pants off."

"Well, I won't deny he's the best at snogging out of my experience." I pretended to gag as Dom giggled.

"I'm happy you're happy, Dom." And that was the truth. Things were going well for me lately, though maybe not as well as Dom seemed to think they should be. I was excited to start my internship and I was happy to be an adult. The added benefit of being able to drink alcohol legally was, of course, helpful whenever it got hard. I was happy for Dom and I was beginning to feel happy for myself again.

Dom eventually trotted off to bed, leaving me to finish my reading over readying myself for sleep. I sighed as I pulled my covers up to my shoulders in the dark and glanced at the calendar opposite my bed. My internship, and Dom's Auror training, started in less than a week.

I probably couldn't be more prepared than I was. I was going to be interning in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement where my mum was a senior officer. I would be learning a lot and probably have a lot to do all the time, but Dom was going to be more busy. She was going to begin training to be an Auror, a dark wizard catcher and one of the hardest— and highest paid— jobs a wizard could get.

Dom wasn't the only one going into Auror training. Albus and Scorpius had both been planning on becoming Aurors themselves ever since they could dream of what they wanted to be. They would all have a tough job ahead of them. From what my cousin Teddy explained, and he was an Auror himself, there were several character and aptitude tests along with the training and dueling that ensued in the three year long program.

I grabbed a pillow and slammed it over my head, trying to block out the thoughts of the certain Auror trainee whom I didn't want to think about. I had worked too hard for the past two years to bring myself to a state of calm when he was around and I wasn't going to let it crumble. Besides, I was quite sure I was over Scorpius Malfoy. I had been on my fair share of dates since sixth year and none of them had been anything like him, something I had started to look for in my dates.

Elliot and Scorpius, for example, were exact opposites. Elliot was clumsy and funny without being sarcastic. He was from Hufflepuff house, back in Hogwarts, and he couldn't fly for the life of him as he had told me. Logically, Elliot was a perfect example of my success over Scorpius.

There was one thing that kept nagging me about my thinking and I tried to expel the thought from my mind. I couldn't let go of the fact that Elliot, while the opposite from Scorpius in basically every way possible, shared the same eye color as him; a blue-grey gaze that didn't let you look away. It had to be a coincidence.

I huffed and threw the blankets off me. Curling into myself, I stopped trying to convince myself things were different. I had never been good at lying anyway.

Scorpius's POV:

"Ogden's Old Firewhiskey at ten in the morning?" Al picked up the bottle next to me on the counter, peering at the label. "Bit early for drinking, don't you think Scorp?"

I brought my glass of said whiskey to my lips, taking a deep sip. Al stared at me with mild annoyance. "Wasn't quite finished at the pub last night." I answered easily, setting my glass down.

"You could've fooled me, mister 'I'm-not-too-drunk-to-Apparate-oh-look-I've-ended-up-in-Manchester' Malfoy." He grumbled, ducking down to the ground and beginning to shovel piles of clothing into his arms.

Al had spent the morning taking on the impossible task of cleaning up the flat. Arguably, sitting through twelve NEWTs exams would be an easier feat to accomplish. The carpet, which I think was a creamy brown color if I thought back long enough, was completely covered with robes, trousers, shirts and sweatshirts; all of which belonged to the two of us. Dishes piled up in the sink and there was a pair of some really hideous purple socks with golden embroidered snitches hanging from the ceiling fan. Al reached up to grab them and deposited his pile into the nearest room.

"Oi! That's my room you're putting all your crap in." I snapped.

"Those are your socks, if I'm remembering correctly." Al countered. Thinking back, they _were_ my socks. I distinctly remembered being drunk when I bought them a few weeks ago.

Don't get me wrong. I hadn't been drinking every day since the end of my seventh year. I did, however, keep a nicely stocked cupboard of elf wines and firewhiskey bottles for emergencies. I had a lot of emergencies.

"What're you bothering to clean for, anyway?" I asked, taking another sip. It was amusing to watch Al crawl on all fours to reach under the couch and pull out a dusty pair of Quidditch robes and a pair of boots that definitely didn't belong to either of us.

"Giselle's coming over. I'm taking her out today. I told you this last night." He began kicking a formidable pile of clothes into my room again. The main entrance to the flat looked seemingly clean and apparently, that was good enough for Albus.

He had met this girl Giselle a few nights ago at the pub. She had tried to curse him when he mistakenly made a grab for her chest instead of my arm. After quite a bit of yelling and a few drinks, she had calmed down some. Miraculously, he was able to get her address and was told to "write to her, sometime". The wanker had waited all of twelve hours until he had sent an owl.

"When is she supposed to be here?" I took a bite of the toast I had prepared in front of me. I often found firewhiskey went excellent with breakfast, though Al would tell you otherwise. He glanced at his watch and blanched.

"Twenty minutes!" He moaned. Tripping over his own feet, he ran back to his bedroom down the hall. Sounds of scuffling and thumping followed and I assumed he was trying to find a clean shirt.

I took a look at the flat, surprised Al had managed to clear the floor so quickly. The carpet was a faded grey that might have once been white and I wondered how I'd gotten the color so mixed up. Granted, we hadn't put much thought into what the flat looked like when we had picked it. The Muggle landlord only had to show us that it was equipped with two bedrooms, separate bathrooms and a bar at the kitchen until we were sold.

We hadn't meant to buy the flat so soon after school, but I had a bit of an incident at the manor. The kind of incident that meant I was no longer welcome at the manor, despite the fact that I had lived there my entire life.

_I dragged my trunk down the marble stairs, the sound of thumping following my pace. My mother was hot on my heels, still crying. I didn't care, considering minutes earlier she had been shrieking her disappointment at me. _

_ "Scorpius!" My father bellowed from the upper floor. He didn't even bother coming down the stairs. "You unpack those things right now and apologize to your mother!"_

_ "I'm leaving. I have Auror training in a month and I need to get the papers signed." I grumbled. _

_ "You are not becoming an Auror!" My father yelled, pounding his fist. "We've told you you're to give up that mad dream! You're only going to get hurt!"_

_ "You wouldn't care much if I did, so what's the point in worrying?"_

_ My mother gasped, bringing a hand to her heart. "Scorpius, of course we would care! We care now! You're being foolish!" _

_ I grasped my wand firmly, though I knew I wouldn't use it. No matter how angry I was, I would never try to curse my own mother. _

_ "You are lucky to have the opportunities you have. You're wasting all of that by chasing this completely stupid notion that you'll become an Auror. You think Harry Potter is going to take you under his wing?" My father sneered. "Would you disgrace your name so willingly?"_

_ "I'm leaving. I'll write to you if I'm mortally injured, I assure you." I turned and dragged my trunk along the floor. My only focus was the front doors and the grounds beyond before I could Apparate away from here. _

_ "And where will you stay?" My father continued. _

_ "I'll be with Albus." I grumbled. My father barked out a mirthless laugh. _

_ "Know this, son. If you walk out those doors, you will not be permitted to walk through them again!" My mother gasped again and a fresh wave of tears flowed down her face. I was seething, my breath coming in heavier than ever before. Still, I crossed the floor to my mother, wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead. _

_ "I'll write to you soon." I said, only to her. I went back to my trunk and pushed the doors open. I didn't listen as my father continued to yell and slammed the doors shut behind me, setting off across the grounds and already thinking about the Potter house, turning on the spot and taking in my last glance of Malfoy manor, my childhood home, before it was gone. _

"Where the fuck is my wand?" Al groaned in the present. He was wearing a black button down shirt, which I recognized as mine but didn't care enough to point out, and dark jeans from a Muggle shop. He was running a comb through his hair though I couldn't fathom why he thought it would make a difference. His hair was like another person with an attitude all on its own.

"You left it on the coffee table when your arse was in the air under the couch." I smirked, realizing my glass was empty and turning to pour myself another helping. Al snatched his wand off the table and tapped it against his leg rhythmically.

"She'll be here any second." He breathed. "How do I look?" He held his arms out in a T. I looked him up and down, laughing when he turned in a circle.

"Well, if I were Giselle, I wouldn't be going home tonight." I winked as Al dropped his arms to his side, looking pleased.

"Alright, I've just got to brush my teeth and—"

A knock on the door. Al turned the color of the carpet and dashed out of the room. "Let her in!" I heard him hiss down the hallway. I rolled my eyes and eased myself off the stool, crossing the room to open the door.

A young witch stood in the doorway clad in a white fluttery tank top and jeans. She looked mildly surprised upon seeing me, being as I looked absolutely nothing like Albus.

"He's just finishing getting ready." I opened the door all the way for her to step inside. She gave me a smile and went to sit down on the couch, glancing around the room casually.

"Oi, fuckface!" I called down the hallway. "She's waiting for you." Al emerged from his room, toothbrush still in his mouth, flashing me the finger you don't show your mother. I smirked and went back to the front room, taking up my seat on the bar stool.

"Whiskey and toast?" She asked. I raised my glass in her direction.

"Want some?"

She laughed at me. Not an altogether surprising reaction coming from a young woman these days. "I'll pass. What are you trying to forget?"

It was my turn to look puzzled. "Sorry?"

"I'll say it again. Whiskey and toast. Have a bad night? Girl troubles?" Giselle was turning out to be very nosey, but in a way that made me want to give her points for bravery.

I mused on her words, swirling the amber colored drink around in my glass. "Something like that. My owl ran away last night and I've been trying to get over her ever since."

"I didn't know owls could run" She piped up from the couch. I raised my eyebrows at her bad joke. She was definitely Al's type if she could break the tension so quickly. Plus, she was pretty. She had caramel colored hair that hung to her shoulders and green eyes. I knew she was Al's type for sure when I noticed her curves, which there were many of.

"I didn't get your name." She said and it took me a minute to realize she was talking to me.

"Scorpius Malfoy. You're Giselle."

She straightened herself in her seat. "Giselle Warren. You're Albus's flat mate then?"

"The one and only."

"Giselle!" Al finally strolled out of the hallway, smelling of his expensive cologne and looking like he had gained a slight edge over his untidy hair in the eternal battle that was combing it.

"Has Scorp been bothering you?" He joked. I elbowed him and missed as he ducked out of the way. Damn Seeker reflexes.

"I wouldn't say he has been." She smiled at Albus and he offered her his arm, which she took. "Have a good day, Scorpius."

I smiled, tilting my glass towards her.

"I'll be back later, Scorp. Don't go too mad without me." Al said in his cocky manner that so reminded me of myself.

"I'll be counting the hours." I drawled and waved them off as they exited through the front door. I turned back to my breakfast of whiskey and toast, wondering when my life had become so boring and how Al had managed to get a date with a witch who was actually not all that awful.

…

I stumbled out of the alley way between two buildings that faced opposite the Leaky Cauldron in London and gripped my wand tightly. Apparating drunk was never a pleasant experience, but neither was being out of whiskey and being bored at the same time; the cause for my trip.

I crossed the street and headed into the Leaky Cauldron, waving at the bar man who was wiping down the counter and weaving through the rickety wooden tables where a small gathering of witches and wizards were seated.

I followed a mental routine as I pushed open the back door, tapped the brick wall with my wand and stepped out into the brightly lit Diagon Alley. Shops had just opened an hour ago and shoppers were bustling up and down the narrow street. I shoved my hands in my pockets, heading south to the shop that was devoted to the Daily Prophet. I figured I might as well get the paper and find out what was going on in the Wizarding world.

"Morning, mister Malfoy" the old woman behind the counter in the Daily Prophet headquarters wheezed. She peered up at me through thick rimmed glasses. "Looking for _'Which Broomstick?'_ today, dear?"

"Just the Prophet today, if you don't mind Ellis." I leaned against the counter, watching the shop as people thumbed through the magazines on the shelves lining the walls. Behind the counter there was a set of stairs that led up to what I could only assume was where the Prophet was made every evening. Post owls flittered through the high beams on the ceiling with bulletins and breaking news, twittering madly over one another.

"There you are, dear." Ellis slapped the Daily Prophet on the counter, the ink still shining slightly. I fished in my pocket for a Knut and paid for the paper before waving goodbye and leaving.

Walking down the street, I unfolded the paper and glanced at the headlines. _"'MAGICAL MAGNUS' TAKEN DOWN BY IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE FOR PARADING AS MUGGLE MAGICIAN (WIZARDING ENTERTAINER). MORE THAN FIFTY MUGGLE MEMORIES MODIFIED."_ I snorted at the stupidity of some grown wizards. And my father wanted to disown me simply for wanting to be an Auror. I almost ran into someone as I was reading and looked up abruptly.

"I'm sorry—" I began but stopped short when I saw the face that was currently grinning at me with a mouthful of crooked teeth.

"Malfoy! Fancy running into you here of all places!" Hayden DeMoine exclaimed. I rolled my eyes.

"This is one of the only wizarding shopping locations in England, Hayden."

"Stop pissing around Scorp, I haven't seen you since before graduation."

"And it has been so very peaceful." Hayden's face was beginning to swim in front of me but I suspected that was because of my breakfast, or lack of it.

"You wouldn't mind grabbing a drink and something to eat with an old friend would you?" He grimaced, again revealing his teeth that badly needed straightening. I vaguely remembered someone I knew telling me about their Muggle dentist grandparents and how they could fix teeth. Before I knew it, Hayden tugged me by the arm down the street.

…

"No more for you, Mister Malfoy." The bar man at the Leaky Cauldron warned. I wanted to protest, but the counter felt very comfortable and I didn't want to lift my head. I stared through the six glasses I had downed still sitting in front of me, admiring the way the room could be seen in various colors through them.

"I'll have another firewhiskey." Hayden spoke on the stool next to mine. I couldn't really remember him sitting there a few seconds ago but I supposed he had been. There were four glasses sitting in front of him. Or was it five? I was confused as he was passed another glass of frothing, amber liquid. He glanced at me and chuckled.

"Never could hold your liquor, could you Scorp?" He shook his head, bringing his drink up to his lips.

"S'pose not." I mumbled.

"You don't mind if I smoke a bit, do you?" He asked, fishing for a box in his jacket pocket and pulling it out. He took out a thin, paper white cylinder with an orange tip and used his wand to light the end of it with a small flame. I couldn't remember what the object was called but I had seen it before on the streets.

"Cigarette. One thing the Muggles got right." His words were muffled as the cigarette was perched between his teeth. "Want one?"

I don't think I answered him. Still, Hayden pulled out another cigarette and handed it to me. I took it and he lit it with his wand again. I brought it to my lips and fought the urge to cough as I sucked in and then breathed out, a cloud of wispy smoke leaving my mouth.

"'Tastes terrible." I mumbled. Hayden looked satisfied. The smoke from our cigarettes mingled with a hazy layer of smoke floating on the ceiling like a second atmosphere from cigars and, in some odd case, the end of a cloaked wizard's wand in the corner.

"It's been a while since we properly talked, Scorp. You know, without fighting. When was the last time?" He seemed to be talking to himself. "Oh right, the Gryffindor-Slytherin match. Sixth year." He whistled as in disbelief.

"You've been hanging around with Albus Potter, I see." He took another drag on his cigarette. I hadn't given mine another thought and extinguished its flame on the counter top when the bar man wasn't looking.

"Bought a flat with him, right? You know I always thought we said we were going to live together when we were younger." The clouds in my head dissipated for a minute, allowing me to dwell on Hayden's utter stupidity.

"You knocked my best mate out with a beater's bat." was all I could muster. Hayden waved his cigarette hand lazily.

"Well, he wasn't your best mate then was he? I was." He looked at me again. "You were all scared your girlfriend was going to be upset. I remember." Hayden tapped his temple like someone who was knowledgeable about many things. He didn't fit the picture.

"What was her name again?" He exhaled smoke.

"Don't start, DeMoine." I grumbled, sitting up and swaying slightly. I gripped onto the counter and blinked away the fuzziness. When I was sitting straight again, Hayden was smiling at me in a way that made me want to punch him.

"Rose Weasley." He drawled. "I always thought she was an interesting choice. Out of any of that overgrown family, I would've thought you'd go for the blonde girl. Or the other red head. Potter's sister. At least she had something to work with if you're getting what I'm saying." He mimed the curves of a woman's body and I gripped the counter more tightly.

"Fuck off, Hayden. She was fourteen when we were in our sixth year, that's disgusting."

"If you say so." He puffed out still more smoke, but in my direction. It smelled awful and made my vision cloudy and I coughed, waving it away. He chuckled.

"I still wonder what it was about her. Rose. You realize I knew it was her on the pitch that one night? You two were snogging."

I tried to think back to our sixth year, which felt like a millennia ago. There was a cold night on the Quidditch pitch. I was with Rose… I taught her how to fly… we almost kissed. Because Hayden interrupted what would've been a real kiss, though he was too thick to realize it. My chest panged uncomfortably and I stopped thinking about Rose.

"I knew you were hanging around with her. I thought she must have been a real piece of work when it came to business. Did you ever get that far? I never found out."

I was seeing red now. Hayden continued to talk, drawing out his words and puffing out smoke. Why the hell was I even sitting with him?

"I mean you always had a taste for unique girls, Scorp. I remember the one with the pink in her hair. And the one that always wanted to tell your future. But a girl with a Mudblood mother? That seemed like a stretch—"

Hayden was interrupted by my fist coming in contact with his face. I knocked him off the bar stool, his ugly face wincing when his arse hit the floor.

"You want to do this again, Malfoy?" He roared from the ground. I hopped off my stool, none too steady, and dived for him. My fists flew in all directions while he kicked at me and tried to roll out of the way. The bar man was yelling at us and the customers were gasping. Still, no one stepped in as I threw a particularly good punch at Hayden's nose. He raised his hand and too late, I realized he still held a cigarette between his fingers when he brought it down on my forearm.

I resisted the urge to cry out at the burn and pushed his hand away, sending the cigarette flying. Hayden used his advantage to roll over and aim a punch at my face, but I quickly scooted to the left and he missed.

"What the hell!" A familiar voice, riddled with anger, came from above. I didn't look to see who it was until a hand grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me apart from Hayden.

Al was glaring down at the two of us with a look of fury on his face. He shoved Hayden back to the ground and grabbed my shoulders roughly, pulling me to my feet.

"God damn it, Scorp. I leave you for two hours and you're hanging out with him? What were you thinking?"

I swayed again and Al steadied me, grabbing my arm.

"You've been drinking all morning. And were you fucking smoking?" He picked up my discarded cigarette from the counter. I shook my head wearily and he scoffed, tossing the cigarette into the bin.

"He's got to keep you on a leash, does he Scorp?" Hayden grunted from the ground. "Do you sleep on a doggy bed at home?"

"Fuck off, Hayden!" Al roared. He dragged me with him out the front door of the pub, a concerned looking Giselle trailing after us. Out on the street the air was much clearer. My head felt a little lighter and I wrenched Al's hand off my arm.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled, putting my head in my hands. I had a pounding head ache.

"Just don't, Scorp. I'm taking you home and you're going to sleep for the rest of the Merlin-be-damned day." Al grabbed my arm again, muttered something to Giselle, and I felt the familiar sensation of side-along Apparition.

We landed in the front room of our flat. I dropped to all fours and became sick on the carpet. Luckily, Giselle hadn't appeared in the room yet. Al quickly ducked to the ground and vanished away the mess with his wand.

"You know that always makes me sick." I moaned on the ground.

"Yes, Scorp. I know. You're already drunk as hell and it's not even noon, what's the difference between vomiting now and later?"

"I'm sorry." I mumbled again. Al walked around me to the kitchen and I put my head between my knees. He returned seconds later with a glass of water and I gratefully took it.

Taking small sips I stayed on the floor as Al bustled around, putting away dishes and wiping down the counters. In minutes, there was a pop and Giselle appeared in front of the door.

"Is he okay?" She asked, biting her lip at myself on the floor. I sent a smile her way— though it probably looked more like a grimace— and Al nodded.

"Scorp, get in the shower. And then get yourself to bed." He ordered. I felt a twinge of annoyance.

"Yes, Mother."

"Don't fucking start, Scorp. You smell like shit."

I got to my feet and set the glass down on the bar, shuffling toward my bathroom. Inside, I leaned against the counter and stared at myself in the mirror. My hair was sticking up in all directions and there were dark shadows under my eyes. There was a smear of blood on my chin, but I assumed it was Hayden's. My shirt was wrinkled and covered in vomit. I screwed up my nose at the smell and reached around the back to pull it off.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't know he was going to be in there." I heard Al's muffled voice through the bathroom door. He and Giselle must have been standing fairly close by. I felt a pulse of guilt run through me. I had almost forgotten Al had been on a date when he had come to my rescue.

"It's okay. Really." Giselle's voice followed. "You were being a good friend."

"Well, he's my best mate. And he's had a rough year. I try to look out for him and when I think he's fine on his own he never is…" Al trailed off. I felt like a small child that Al had to take care of against his will.

"I can tell. Whiskey for breakfast." Giselle said. I scoffed silently. She would not let that go. "But I did have a good time, I promise."

"I'm sorry. Again. I could make it up to you if you wanted." Al was babbling now.

"I'd like that." I heard her say. And then there was silence, but not the kind of silence that meant she had left. Even in my drunken haze, I would bet my last Galleon that Al was getting some lip action. I pumped my fist in the air for my best mate and his wildly good luck.

"Thank you, again. I'll see you soon." Giselle said. "Oh, and Albus? Tell Scorpius to get back with whatever girl broke his heart."

"Oh. Um, yeah. Thanks. I mean— I'll see you soon." And Al was back to his old ways, spluttering and probably flailing his arms if I knew anything about him, which I did.

"Goodbye, Albus." There was a smile in Giselle's voice, followed by another faint popping sound. The silence was broken seconds later.

"Scorpius get the fuck in the shower now before I come in there and force you myself!"

And so was the adventure of living with Albus Potter.

**A/N: Hello to anyone who is reading this! I've had this written for a few days and I've been editing it endlessly. I hope it fits up to the standards that the first chapter of a sequel usually demands. It's probably the longest chapter I've ever written and I honestly had so much fun with it! Anyway, welcome to Unbreakable! This is the sequel to my Rose/Scorpius fanfiction "Unexpected" which is complete and set during their sixth year of Hogwarts. I suppose you don't absolutely have to read Unexpected to read this, but it would make a lot more sense if you did! Please let me know what you think in the reviews and let me know if you're excited about anything or anyone! I can't wait to be on another journey with two of my favorite Potterverse characters! :) **

**~yours in eternity, Amy xx **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Songs I was listening to while writing: Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran, Nina by Ed Sheeran, Runaway by Ed Sheeran (I feel like this is a good Scorpius theme song), Stay With Me by Sam Smith, A Little Bit of Heaven by Avenged Sevenfold

Scorpius's POV:

The first day of Auror training started at an ungodly hour in the morning. It took me a good ten minutes to get Albus out of bed, which resulted in bruises covering my arms from his kicking feet. Fifteen minutes later, I was seated at the bar stool while Al fixed a cup of tea for himself, still grumbling.

"Remember, we have to sign in with the Welcome Witch at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and then we have to find the Head Auror Trainer." I read off a paper from one of the numerous forms we were given before training.

"Scorp," Al muttered, leaning heavily against the counter. "I won't be able to comprehend anything you say until it's past at least six in the morning. Which I'll remind you— it isn't."

I rolled my eyes and folded the papers, stuffing them into the pocket of my new robes. Al and I had picked up the required uniforms for the training program which consisted of loose black tracksuit bottoms-looking material, a black fitted t-shirt, and black robes with the Auror Academy crest embroidered on the front and back. Al continually tugged down the hem of his bottoms, as he was too tall for them. Finally, before Apparating to the Leaky Cauldron, he cast a stretching spell on his bottoms and was satisfied, I could only hope.

We Apparated to a dingy alley between two buildings that looked as if they were falling apart. It was so early in the morning that the sky was still dark and the moon hadn't completely disappeared yet. Al continued to grumble and yawn loudly as we trekked across the street. We received many strange looks from the muggles that sparsely littered the pavement, walking their dogs or leaving for early shifts. It was a relief to duck into the familiar pub and see the bar man behind the counter, the only inhabitant at the early hour.

"Morning, lads." The bar man mumbled, stifling a yawn. His expression soured when he noticed me. "You won't be starting trouble in here again, Mister Malfoy." He pointed a large finger at me.

"He's not the one you need to worry about. Worry about Hayden DeMoine." Al snapped back, stepping in front of me as if I needed protection. Grabbing Al's arm, I quickly led us over to the large fireplace that had been set up in the back of the pub and scooped a handful of floo powder into my fist from the cauldron on the mantle.

Years ago, after the second fall of Voldemort in 1998, the Ministry decided to completely reinvent itself. Security became tighter and deeper background checks were made for all potential employees. Additionally, the Ministry wanted to create an inviting atmosphere to make up for the corruption and darkness that had so easily overtaken it. The bathroom floo system was annihilated and replaced with easy floo network locations set up around areas of large wizarding gatherings. Employees now traveled to and from the ministry mostly from the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron, which only led to the Ministry and couldn't be used by anyone who hadn't registered as an employee.

"Ministry of Magic, Atrium" I said as clearly as one could when surrounded by giant, green flames. Al's face was whipped out of vision as I was spun around impossibly fast and fireplaces flew by my sight. I was chucked out onto a marble floor and landed on my knees. I stood up quickly, brushing soot off my black robes and looking around.

I didn't know if I'd be able to name the day the Ministry stopped being impressive. The high ceilings were filled with memos on lavender paper, flitting through the sky like bizarre owls. The second Fountain of Magical Brethren was erected in the middle of the Atrium, though its inhabitants were now joined in a circle, holding hands. I smirked as I thought about Al's Aunt Hermione who had worked a lot to get the House Elves in the world the wages and work benefits they deserved. The bronze statue of Dobby the Free Elf in the fountain, hand in hand with a wizard, represented only a fraction of the changes made to the wizarding world after the "Dark Years" as our parents called it.

"Blimey, that fireplace isn't gentle on the arse." Al muttered as he came stumbling out of the fireplace and landed on his bum with all the grace of a wounded hippogriff. I tried not to laugh as I leaned down to help him up and he took my hand.

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" He breathed as soon as he was on two feet again and took in the sight of the Ministry. Somehow it looked different than it had when I had only been a visitor in my father's presence. Maybe it was because I was going to be a part of the intricate system that upheld it now that made it look bigger. More likely, it was because I was considerably taller than I had been when I was a child.

"Ouch!" A sharp female voice came from our right and we turned to see Dominique Weasley sitting on her bum, much like Albus.

"It's darling Dominique!" Al exclaimed, throwing up his hands and rushing over to his cousin. I rolled my eyes with a smile as Al bowed deeply to help Dom up and acted like an idiot.

"Dear maiden, you need not thank me for coming to your gallant rescue." He drawled, kissing her hand.

"My hero." Dom said sarcastically as Al winked. "I'm glad to see you two!" She smiled brightly as I joined them and she gestured to her robes, identical to ours. "It's exciting isn't it?"

"At least your bottoms fit you." Al grumbled, tugging again at the hem of his ill-fitting uniform.

"Did they accidentally give you Dom's uniform size instead of your own, Al?"

My chest immediately panged like someone had sharply prodded my ribcage with their wand. My throat tightened and I looked up at the ceiling, focusing on the memos streaking through each other in an organized sort of chaos. When I gathered myself and looked back down, Rose was standing next to Dominique.

I tried not to stare at her, but she looked fucking adorable. She was wearing the navy robes that all Ministry employees wore over a white dress shirt with little black dots and a black skirt. Her pretty legs were covered in black tights and she was gripping her wand so tightly, her knuckles were turning white. Her deep, red hair was gathered in a curly bun on the back of her neck and a stray strand had escaped behind her ear. I wanted to reach out and tuck it in with the rest.

But I knew that was wrong. Rose didn't deserve to be confused by me and I didn't need to confuse myself. I was here for one thing today: Auror training. I had to focus on the thing I had poured my entire seventh year into. The thing I had scraped an E in Potions for on my NEWTs and had been basically cast out of my family for.

"Scorpius?" Dom asked, snapping me back to the conversation. I blinked stupidly at her and she laughed. Merlin only knew how Dominique Weasley could find it in herself to be cheery at five in the morning.

"I asked you if you were up for walking as a group to the Department?" I barely heard Dom because Rose was looking away and she couldn't see me when I was taking in the freckles sprinkled across the pink of her cheeks. I wondered what she was blushing about. Al shoved me slightly, giving me a look that meant I would be getting lectured later.

"Yeah, sure." I mumbled at Dom's expectant face. She looked satisfied and slid her arm into the crook of Rose's arm to whisk her in front of us and bounce along the crowd, very out of place among the serious-faced witches and wizards.

"Shall I escort you through many perils to our dangerous destination?" Al spoke up next to me in the same silly voice from before, his concern completely gone. He held out an arm for me.

"What sort of perils are we talking about?"

"Listening to Dom's stories about her new boyfriend, for one." He answered. I cringed.

"Will you, Scorpius Malfoy, battle the Dominique dragon with me?"

I sighed as I dramatically took Al's arm, playing along with him for once. "I thought you'd never ask."

…

"Is there a way I could get a larger size of these bottoms?" Al asked the scarily tall witch who was greeting Auror trainees at the door of the Auror office. We were fitting badges with our names on them and the symbol of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement onto our robes.

She raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. "What's your name again?"

Al huffed out a sigh. "Albus Potter." I knew he hated using the "Potter" card for his own benefit. Even though the craze surrounding Harry Potter and his family had died down considerably in the past years, there was still a prestigious pedestal he sat upon. The witch's eyebrows rose so high up on her face that they became hidden by her choppy bangs.

"I'll check in the back, Mister Potter." She disappeared through the doorway and we waited as Dom fastened her badge to her robes.

"You don't think it'll be like that the entire time, do you?" Al asked, turning to me.

"What? Everyone bowing at your feet when they find out your father is the Head of the Auror Office and you're following in his footsteps? Not at all, mate." Al huffed again and forced a smile when the witch returned with longer bottoms. He ducked down the corridor to a bathroom to change. The witch waved Dom and I into the doorway and the sight of the Auror office, alive and booming, was something I would never forget.

The walls only showed in purple gaps between overlapping Wanted posters of dark wizards and witches. There were bulletin boards tacked all over random spots on the wall with webs made to track the wizards. Every cubicle was plastered with more Wanted posters, lists and webs. Memos were flying back and forth so fast above the rest of us, they became a purple blur. Aurors rushed back and forth, slapping each other on the backs and shouting different things.

"Auror Trainees, gather 'round here!" A middle aged looking Auror with a menacing looking scar gouged into his face roared above the tumult near another set of gilded doors to our right. Dom and I shuffled through the mass of Aurors to reach the group of other trainees gathered around the wizard. Al just caught up with us as the wizard began to talk, no longer tugging on his bottoms.

"Welcome to the Auror Office." He boomed. "I'll be taking you lot in through there—" he gestured to the gilded doors. "—because it's bloody loud out here. But get used to the noise. It never goes away. It's all part of working in this office."

I took a last look at the office around me, trying to take in all that was there to see, before following the group into the adjacent room.

The room was obviously magically enlarged to be fit into the Department. It was easily as long as the Atrium and completely made out of grey marble and pillars. Purple and silver banners with the Department emblem were hanging from the ceiling. A large black stage was set up at the opposite end of the room with a podium carved to look like it was supported by two wizards bearing their wands in an X.

Albus was buzzing with excited energy next to me. It seemed he was no longer fazed by the early hour and was now trying to look at all of the room in one sweeping glance. We crossed the length of the hall as the leading wizard stepped up onto the stage and stood in front of the podium. He cleared his throat loudly and flashed a grin, which made the scar on his face look even more grisly.

"Congratulations on being selected for the honor of training to become an Auror in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." He began, skimming over the crowd with his eyes. His gaze seemed to slow when he glanced at the trio containing myself and Al and Dom.

"My name is Rhys Rowley, but you'll be calling me Head Rowley. I'll inform you that each of you was chosen not only for your scores on your NEWTs, but through background checks and character and aptitude tests. You have been singled out as a worthy member of the elite group that protects the lives of the European witches and wizards. I will warn you that this training process is an intense three years of physical and mental exhaustion. If anyone feels they are unwilling to participate in the trials you are about to face, now would be the time to exit."

All the trainees looked around at each other, as if daring someone to drop out. We had all been chosen for a reason. We were all stubborn and mad enough to want to be Aurors. I would bet my entire life's savings that not one of the trainees were about to throw away the chance they had been given. I stood up straighter, meeting the glare of a burly looking dark haired trainee across the group that was cracking his knuckles.

"Well, you had your chance. I will say that being an Auror asks for a lot out of you and sometimes quite literally takes it." He jokingly gestured to his scar but none of the trainees laughed. "Today will be an easy day for you all. You will be given a tour of the Auror office and the Department itself. You will be put into your groups and be introduced to your Heads. Your Head will be the Auror that is recording your results in each session for the next three years."

The door was audibly thrown open and a mass of Aurors spilled through into the marble room. At the front of the mass was none other than Harry Potter. Whispers sounded like the whistling of wind through the group of trainees and Al tensed beside me. I knew he wanted to make a good impression in front of his dad.

The silent crowd of Aurors seemed to glide along the floor until they parted, standing on different sides against the walls. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were the only ones who continued to walk to the stage and stepped up to the podium.

"It's really great to see all of you ready to become Aurors." Harry spoke. The crowd of trainees was absolutely silent. "I'm sure Head Trainer Rowley has already tried to scare you all away and I'm glad to see you've all made the choice to continue on."

Ron Weasley stepped forward then and took Harry's place at the podium. I couldn't focus on what he was saying as much because I was trying to find out how he looked like Rose. He really didn't, truthfully. His hair was a much lighter shade of red and his eyes were blue instead of Rose's brown eyes. He looked much more like Hugo and acted like him too. Rose didn't exactly have the same bad temper as her father.

"You're going to be meeting your Heads now and they will be taking you around the office." Rowley said. I hadn't even realized he had replaced Ron Weasley at the podium and now I saw Ron standing by Harry at the back of the stage, looking at me pointedly. I knew he knew I had broken up with Rose back in sixth year. It was a miracle he hadn't tried to kill me yet.

"Come on, Scorp. They're lining us up." Al grabbed my arm and pulled me into the line of trainees. Rowley was going down the line, reading off the list of trainees assigned to each Head. When he got to us, he took the same lingering glance from before.

"Potter, Weasley, Malfoy. You're a group with Head Lupin. He specifically requested all three of you." He said, eyeing each of us. He checked our names off a list and moved down the rest of the line. On my right, Dominique was squealing excitedly.

"Head Lupin! That's Teddy!" She exclaimed. She practically bounced over to the left wall, Albus and I following in her wake, where none other than Teddy Lupin was standing in black Auror robes that caused his bright blue hair to stand out even more.

"Teddy! You could have told us you were going to be our Head!" Dom squealed excitedly, throwing her arms around him in a hug. He gently pushed her off of him.

"Dom, as much as I love you and your entire family, I can't be seen hugging you when I'm on duty as your Head." I could tell he was trying to use his most serious voice, but his crooked grin gave him away. Dom giggled and mumbled an apology.

Teddy shook Al's hand and then mine. I shook his hand firmly and tried not to show that I was actually really fucking nervous about meeting him.

I had seen Teddy before at the various Potter-Weasley gatherings Al's mum had invited me to during my seventh year. I had never really talked to him, seeing as he had a full time job taking care of Victoire and their baby, who had been born only a few months ago. Her name was Angeline and she was probably the cutest thing on chubby-baby legs I had ever seen. Still, I had never been properly introduced to Teddy before despite the fact that we were actually more related than he was to the rest of the Potters and Weasleys— his family. Teddy and I were blood related cousins.

"Scorpius. I don't think we've gotten to properly say hello before." He said. I stood up straight, noticing that Teddy and I were pretty much the same height. I wondered, if my mother were here, would she be able to point out the similarities between him and I? Did we look like we could be cousins? I thought it would take her a while to get past the blue hair.

He stuck out a hand to shake mine. "Teddy Lupin." He said, flashing a grin.

I took his hand and shook firmly, hoping I wasn't doing something stupid like shaking or sweating too much. "Scorpius Malfoy." I said as confidently as I thought I could make myself sound. Why was meeting my only blood cousin so nerve wracking for me?

"Now you all know who I am, of course. I picked this group partially because you're all my family but also because I know each of you has the potential to come out in the top of the Academy." He looked at each of us as he talked. Whenever he looked at me, something in me snapped and I stood up straighter.

Teddy and I were similar, I realized after he began to show us around the Auror Headquarters. When he walked, I recognized the confident stride as the one I had picked up when I was little. The way he held himself was a lot like me too with our shoulders back. I also noted we both had the old Black family features— strong jawline, prominent cheekbones, and the same slope of the nose.

There was also a difference in the way we were similar. Teddy didn't have to act arrogant to look confident in himself. I knew that I had always been cocky. I even stood in an "arrogant posture" according to Ron Weasley who hadn't known I could hear him after a dinner at the Burrow while he was complaining to Harry Potter about me as if I was personally bothering him—overgrown child.

"This is where you guys will report every morning— my desk." Teddy said. I hadn't really been paying attention as he led us through the Headquarters and pointed out the different cubicles and meeting rooms. His desk was a cluttered mess of papers, quills, Quidditch posters and a framed picture of Victoire holding Angeline. They were waving and smiling at us like we were the most bad-ass Aurors they had ever laid eyes on.

"It's a mess, I know. Your dad gets on me about it all the time." He added to Al. "But I know where everything is and hopefully you guys will too. You'll mostly be training in the big room we were just in. It's made for dueling and the physical tests you'll be taking."

He leaned against his desk, crossing his arms comfortably. I wondered how old Teddy was. He couldn't be much older than thirty if he was even out of his twenties yet. He looked like a seventh year giving a lecture to first years— and we were the first years.

"I'm supposed to tell you about the different kinds of tests you're going to have to take. You'll be studying Concealment and Disguise, Stealth and Tracking, and Poisons and Antidotes. Those are kind of like your classes that you'll be taking in different stages." He began fiddling with a Quidditch figurine on his desk while he talked. "You'll also have to know how to cast a basic memory charm, but it's not the most important skill you'll need because the Ministry already has the Obliviator Headquarters. You'll need to be sharp and quick at dueling offensively and defensively. And you're going to learn how to heal different wounds that might slow you down if you get hurt on a mission." He paused to look at us as if waiting for questions.

"What's Concealment and Disguise?" Dom asked. Teddy smirked— another Black family trait that I supposed we had both gotten; Excessive smirking— and crossed the space between his desk and the wall of Wanted posters.

"You're expected to master the ways you can keep yourself from being seen. You'll be learning things like invisibility charms and how to brew Polyjuice potion and detect when it's being used."

"Sounds like a lot of work." Al said. Teddy only grinned wider. And then suddenly, Teddy's hair blended in with the posters around him, which elicited a gasp from Dom and applause from me and Al.

"It was easy for me, but that's obvious. You'll all have different strengths and we'll be recording how well you do in each stage." His hair turned back to blue and he beckoned for us to follow him down a side corridor.

Dom had bounced next to Teddy and was asking him about Victoire and the baby when Al leaned in next to me.

"Can you imagine Dom in Stealth and Tracking? She can't walk without jumping like a pixie." He stifled his chuckles and I punched his shoulder without really putting much force into it.

"Git. Can you imagine me in Poisons and Antidotes?" It had felt like cold ice was pouring into my intestines when Teddy had mentioned that course. I had known a good Potions grade was required to get into the Academy itself, but I didn't know it would follow you into the training.

"I'll help you." Al said, turning serious when he saw my face. "None of us is going to let any of us drop out or fail. We all wanted this and we are so close to having it. We're not turning back now."

I nodded, to Al's satisfaction and feigned interest when Teddy finally brought us out to a room full of papers and records on every dark wizard that had been caught and brought to Azkaban. I wanted to be interested in what he was saying but the only thing I could think about was that my tutoring would be going down a very different road this year without the person who had made me get my shit together in the first place. Rose.

Rose's POV:

"You're Rose Weasley?" The old witch standing by the entrance to my mum's department eyed me suspiciously. She was probably as old as Grandma Weasley but without the spirit. She pursed her lips together unpleasantly, reminding me of a toad, and finally handed me my badge. I fastened it to my robes quickly, tucking the piece of my hair that wouldn't stay in with the rest behind my ear and following her through the doorway.

"You're to work with Mister Sharman. He's going to be the one to show you around and get you started. Your mother's busy I'm afraid but she's going to make it to each of the interns personally in the next week." The old witch was surprisingly fast for her age and I had to take longer strides to keep up with her as she parted through several workers. It reminded me of taking walks with James and Albus around the Quidditch pitch. They always left me out of breath.

"He'll be meeting you here. This is his cubicle. It would be good of you not to touch anything and don't ask too many questions right away. He likes two lumps of sugar in his tea." She stopped abruptly in front of a cubicle shoved into the corner of the office as if it hadn't been there in the original plans. She turned on her heel and disappeared back into the crowd and for the second time that morning, I felt completely alone.

After Dom had left with Al and Scorpius for the Auror Headquarters, I had gotten lost twice in the winding corridors of the Department. I felt stupid for not knowing where I was, especially since I had been to this Department multiple times with both my mum and dad before. I couldn't think straight. I was nervous and, as much as I didn't want to admit it, seeing Scorpius in person for the first time in months had affected me more than I thought it would.

I was so lost in thought I didn't notice when a young looking wizard appeared suddenly at my side.

"You're the intern, right?" He asked, scaring me so badly that I jumped and dropped my wand. I tried to contain the blush that I knew was sure to follow as the wizard ducked down hastily to retrieve my fallen wand. It was no use. When he straightened up and placed my wand back in my hands, he couldn't avoid looking at my violently pink cheeks.

"I'm Luke Sharman." He said, laughing slightly. He stuck out a hand for me to shake and I did.

"Rose Weasley." I sighed loudly at my pitifully squeaky voice. Luke Sharman turned to his desk, which I hadn't even noticed was immaculately neat, and began putting his things down. I took in the few minutes to note that he had dark brown-almost black hair and green eyes. I was reminded of Albus until I noticed his hair was perfectly styled and flat, nothing like Al's go to I-just-rolled-out-of-bed hairstyle.

"So your last name's Weasley?" He asked, turning back to me and falling gracefully into a relaxed position in his chair. Something flashed across his face— realization?— and then he grabbed his wand and conjured another chair out of the air. It landed just behind me with an audible clatter on the marble floor and I uneasily took a seat, smoothing down my skirt.

"Any relation to the Deputy Head of the Department Hermione Weasley?" He flashed a very toothy grin.

"She's my mother." I replied, smiling slightly at Luke's surprised expression.

"Did you inherit her brains and knack for working harder than anyone at anything?" He teased. I sat up straighter.

"If graduating top of my class with ten NEWTs answers your question, then yes." Luke had the decency to look impressed rather than sport the usual look of disbelief I got when mentioning my grades.

"That's a pretty ace answer. I thought I did a good job with my eight NEWTs, but it seems you've already proven you're smarter than me." I blushed again, laughing along with him.

"So what brought you to the Improper Use of Magic Office?" He asked, sweeping his arms out around him to encompass the office surrounding us.

"I always wanted to do what my mum was doing when I was little. And Magical Law has always interested me." I stopped talking at Luke's soft laughter. "What?"

"You're like talking to a textbook case of the perfect intern resume." He joked. He stood from his chair suddenly and grabbed his wand and his badge. He gestured for me to do the same.

"I hardly thought it was the atmosphere for anything else." I retorted.

"It's not an insult. You're wickedly smart. That's a good thing." He beckoned for me to follow him as he began weaving through cubicles and pushed open a door at the back of the office, leading to the larger offices and the lift. I now remembered exactly where I was from the summer tour of the Ministry. There was no need to feel lost now that I had established footing.

"So I'm basically your boss." Luke started. "You don't have to call me 'Mister Sharman' or anything because you'll make me feel ancient." I wondered how he could possibly feel old when he couldn't be older than twenty one. He flashed his badge at a pair of wizards in the same navy blue robes who were talking excitedly and immediately cleared the way to the entrance of a door.

"Today's the day where I show you around and tell you what you'll basically be doing. If you have any questions, ask now because you're going to be busy later." And with another toothy grin, he swung open the door and I followed him into a larger room than the previous office with memos flying every which way and a map of Europe taking up the entire right wall.

"Welcome to the Improper Use of Magic Headquarters." Luke said, his voice louder now that he had to speak over the din of the several witches and wizards talking amongst each other. He led the way over to the map, which was unlike any map I had ever seen before.

Sparks were literally flying off the map in every country in different colors. Most of the sparks were blue. Those sparks seemed to consume the parchment in a bizarre-looking fire and I was reminded of bluebell flames my mum had showed me how to cast inside a jar.

The rest of the sparks were red. These sparks were fewer and popped up occasionally between the sea of blue. Whenever they did, the witches and wizards in the office scribbled information down on various writing surfaces.

"This is the map that shows use of magic all over Europe. The blue sparks appear where magic is being used by someone who is of age or a student who is using magic during school. When it's not summer, you can't even see Scotland on the map because of Hogwarts. So many students using so much magic turns the whole country blue." He laughed excitedly and I smiled again at his enthusiasm.

"What are the red sparks for?" I asked, though I already had my guesses.

"That's where the 'improper use of magic' comes in." He responded. "Red sparks show up wherever magic is being used by someone who isn't of age. Mostly, the red comes from little kids who can't control their magic. But we always track it back to the source and that's where the trace works."

It was a lot to take in all at once. Luke showed me the rest of the Headquarters and then brought me down to the courtrooms.

"You won't be down here as much. This is mostly for the Wizengamot. Sometimes, an intern will be taking notes during trials so it's good for you to know where this is." He explained, his voice echoing off the empty walls of the amphitheater-seating around the chair in the middle of the room.

Half an hour later, the tour brought us back to the main office with the many cubicles.

"Care for tea?" He asked. I nodded, trying not to look too eager. It was almost lunch time and I was hungry. If I had inherited anything from my dad, it was his seemingly bottomless stomach. Luke conjured a tea set on a rickety stool and began rummaging through his desk drawers, explaining something about memos in the Department.

As he was turned around, I poured the already brewed tea into two cups and added two lumps of sugar to his. He turned back to me, stopping midsentence, and laughed out loud at the tea I was now holding out to him.

"If you're aiming for the title 'best intern ever', you're off to a good start." He said, happily taking the tea from my hand. I couldn't help but smile to myself as I added honey to my tea and stirred the comforting beverage idly. Maybe it was a little conceited to know I was making a very good first impression, but it felt nice to feel confident in the way things were working for me again, something I hadn't felt for a long while.

Scorpius's POV:

Albus and I had Disapparated back to our flat after Auror Training had officially finished. Knowing I had somehow managed to get through the first day without messing things up for myself was a comforting thought and I considered celebrating with a well-deserved drink.

Bending down to the cabinet where I stocked my liquor, I ignored Al as he rambled on about ways to make himself look and feel more "bad-ass" as an Auror Trainee. He had promptly kicked off his shoes and shrugged off his robes, flopping onto the couch and sticking his feet on top of the coffee table.

"Do you think I'd look good with a tattoo?" He asked. I barely heard him as I pushed around the contents of the cabinet. Something was wrong.

"Where is the whiskey?" I asked. Al either pretended not to hear me or just didn't care and started talking about his hair.

"…I'd probably look stupid with blue hair, but Teddy can pull it off. I think it gives him an edge of intimidation, you know?"

"Al," I snapped, cutting him off and straightening up from the floor of the kitchen. "Where is the whiskey? _My_ whiskey, specifically."

Al was sporting a shit-eating grin and I knew he had been up to something. He fiddled with his wand and I crossed the room quickly to snatch it out of his hand.

"Give me my wand, Scorp." He whined. He lunged forward to grab it and missed, causing his feet to slip off the table.

"What did you do to my whiskey?" I demanded.

"I got rid of it." He said simply, making use of my shock to swipe for his wand and take it from my hands. He gave me a look. "Scorp, you don't realize what it was doing to you. You were drinking every day. And you're a fucking annoying drunk. Now that you're starting training, you're going to have to stop that whole 'I-don't-care' bullshit because it's not going to help you at all."

I barely felt his words. All I could say was "Where did it go?" Merlin, I sounded like a sad child.

"Ask the bloke that sleeps on the bench a few blocks down. Mind you, he might be drunk out of his mind if you do." Al got up from the couch and went around me behind the counter to get plates out of the cupboard.

"You gave my whiskey to a homeless man?" I shouted. Al shrugged and then looked at me seriously again. I took a seat in the bar stool, feeling weak. Or pathetic. Or both. When had I become so dependent on a few drinks?

"You know what I'm saying is true. I know you don't want to mess up training for yourself. You've worked really hard to get here Scorp and your drinking problem is not going to be the thing that keeps you from getting the career you want." He said.

"You sound like your mum." I mumbled, my chin resting in my hand. "And I do not have a drinking problem."

"You can say whatever you want to make yourself feel better, Scorp. But you're my best mate and that means I have to set you straight sometimes." Al was bent over in the refrigerator now. We didn't really keep any food in the flat. There was a lemon in the top shelf and a couple butterbeers in the side door. Sighing impatiently, he shut the door.

"I fucking hate it when you're right." I grumbled.

"I'm always right." Al scoffed arrogantly. I felt like jinxing him into the next century and thanking him at the same time for looking out for me.

"You realize that we're going to have to talk about my cousin." He said. My insides froze and I glanced at him. He was looking at me expectantly.

"Dominique is a very nice girl. A little mad, but—"

"Stop it. I'm talking about Rose." He snapped. I internally winced at her name. "I saw the way you were looking at her at the Ministry today. And if you're not going to stand up to your father, you can't let her catch you doing that. She'll get confused and it'll end up hurting both of you."

"I'm going to talk to my father." I said, probably more forcefully than I meant to. "We're not on good terms right now."

"Then find a way to make him listen. The only reason I didn't hex you in that corridor in sixth year was because I believe you really care a lot about my cousin and you were willing to make being with her possible."

I took a deep breath, my stomach doing backflips inside me. I knew I had to talk to my father. However, being kicked out of the manor wasn't exactly the best way to start getting him to listen to me and I was pretty sure he wasn't going to take any more shit from me now that our relationship had gone down so quickly.

Still, I thought about Rose and the way she had looked when I had broken up with her. We had been kissing and I had stopped it abruptly, telling her we couldn't be together. Merlin, I hated myself for making her cry. I looked up at Al.

"I'm going to talk to him soon. I promise." I said. Al nodded. "And I do care about her. I love her. You know I do and I'm going to do everything I can to make things easier for us."

"I know she loves you just as much; probably too much. She hasn't had a proper boyfriend since you came along. Grandma Weasley is going ballistic trying to figure out what's going on with her."

I snickered, thinking about little old Molly Weasley following her grandchildren— and there was a small country of them— around the Burrow and poking her nose into their social lives.

"Scorp," Al said. I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to him. "You're still my best mate. And even though things went to shit in sixth year, at least our friendship came out of it."

Al could really turn into a pile of mush when he wanted to. "Marry me, Albus?" I joked, imitating Dom when she was around Colin in seventh year and batting my eyelashes. Al chuckled.

"Prick. Maybe if you grew boobs and got a new haircut." He stowed his wand in his back pocket and headed toward the front door, beckoning me to follow him.

"Where're we going?" I asked. I shed my Auror robes and tossed them onto the couch, sticking my hands into the pockets of my uniform.

"The Burrow. If you think we could make an edible dinner out of a lemon and butterbeer, you're cracking up. Grandma Weasley is cooking!" Al said, smacking his lips annoyingly. He turned on his heel and with a pop, he was gone. I rolled my eyes and followed after him.

As I was twisted and turned in the uncomfortable sensation of Apparating, thought grimly that I had wasted enough time feeling sorry for myself. It was time to contact my father.

**A/N: Whew. That took me a lot longer than I thought it would. I thought I would like this chapter more but it was pretty difficult trying to come up with the way the Ministry might work behind closed doors! I hope you all enjoy it! What do you think about Scorp and Rose without each other? Do you have any guesses as to what's happening next? Please, please, please leave a review and let me know if you liked the chapter! It will get me excited to keep writing and I have lots of plans for this fanfic. :) Thank you to all who followed and favorited Unbreakable and to those of you who left reviews, they were greatly appreciated! **

**~yours in eternity, xx Amy**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Songs I was listening to while writing: Sidewinder by Avenged Sevenfold, Bleed It Out by Linkin Park, Oh Well Oh Well by Mayday Parade, Can't Stop by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Scorpius's POV:

"Mr. Malfoy is not taking any visitors this morning." The secretary said lazily. "If you would like to leave a message for him, please fill out a memo form." She pointed one long, purple manicured finger at a stack of lavender paper on the corner of her desk and went back to writing something important-looking on a long roll of parchment. I huffed impatiently.

"Would you please tell him his son is here to see him?" I said shortly. She glanced up at me, her interest apparently peaked. She looked me up and down as if trying to see if I looked enough like my father to pass as his son (and I knew as well as anyone that I did).

"Mr. Malfoy is not in the office at the moment, Mister Malfoy. Scorpius, is it?" She drawled out again in the same bored tone as before.

"My father has never missed a day of work in his life." I said. I was getting annoyed and it was probably as obvious from the outside as it felt on the inside. My hands were balled into fists to keep me from wrenching open the door just feet away myself and stalking inside.

"He's regrettably away on business this morning. If you would like to leave a message," She said slowly, as if I was a small child and I couldn't understand her properly. "Please fill out a memo form." And she went back to her work.

"Yeah, I'd like to leave a message." I barked. "You can tell him—" What could I possibly say to him? That he was a sorry excuse for a father? I knew that would be a lie. As much as I didn't see eye to eye with him, I had learned everything I know about who I was from my father. I could always tell him he was being a ridiculous fucking pain in the arse.

I glanced at the shiny, silver plaque on his door. _Draco Malfoy, Senior Wizengamot Official._ Huffing out a sigh, I glanced back at his less than enthusiastic secretary and stuffed my hands in my pockets.

"Will you tell him I was here?" Her eyes flitted up toward me again and then back to her paper. I got the feeling she was telling me "yes", but I couldn't be sure. It seemed like she was going to call security on me if I didn't leave. I grabbed my wand in my pocket to feel like I had some control over something and turned to leave out of the hall that held all the Wizengamot Offices.

I had waited two days after Al had lectured me about Rose and after the most awkward dinner I had been forced to sit through at the Burrow. Ron Weasley blatantly glared at me all night and Rose wouldn't come out of the kitchen with Dominique. An hour earlier than usual this morning, I left for the Ministry in the hopes of catching my father before he started the trials of the day down in the courtrooms. I was almost positive it was bullshit that he was "away on business". He never left the office.

I was fast-walking mindlessly down the halls that connected the different Headquarters of the offices that made up the whole of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. There were only a few workers littered around the halls with reports and memos flying around them in orbit. I paid them no notice as they stared at me while I tried my best to keep myself calm and find the Auror Headquarters.

Turning a corner sharply, I collided with something. Or rather, someone. They must have been smaller than me because upon collision, they fell to the ground. The force knocked me against the wall and I swore as a bruise bloomed on my shoulder where it had been hit.

I noticed I was surrounded by scattered papers and I instantly felt guilty. I had probably knocked some poor bloke's entire evening's work onto the floor.

"Shit, I'm sorry." I said, stooping down to the floor to help gather the papers into a messy pile.

"It's okay, really." They said in a flustered, feminine voice. A voice I would recognize in my sleep. Rose.

She was trying to shuffle the papers around in order and her hands were shaking. Her hair was down today, only a few pieces from the front pinned around the back, and it tumbled freely in loose red waves against the navy of her robes. She was blushing, though I couldn't fathom why. I was the one who had run into her.

"Here." I choked out, shoving the papers I had collected toward her. She looked up at me and I stared at her stupidly while she took the papers from my hand. She sorted them into her stack and her hands fumbled; more papers slipped to the floor.

"Thank you." She said quietly when I picked up those papers and handed them back to her. Her bag was lying a few feet away and I got to my feet to retrieve it. But someone beat me to it.

"Rose, this is your bag, right?" A tall guy with slicked dark hair had picked up her bag by the strap. I stood there, still frozen from my stupidity and shocked that I had actually knocked Rose to the ground for the third time in all my years of knowing her, while he handed Rose back her bag. She had straightened up from the floor and was smiling now, though her blush hadn't left. She glanced over at me and started, as if forgetting I had been there.

"Luke, this is my… friend, Scorpius." She said slowly. My stomach had done some impressive backflips when she paused before settling on "friend" and was now sitting like a rock inside me.

Luke walked over to me and extended his hand for me to shake.

"I'm Luke Sharman, Senior Correspondent for the Improper Use of Magic Office." He said. I shook his hand firmly. Something about him already pissed me off. It was probably because he had to sneak his title into his introduction.

"Scorpius Malfoy, Auror Trainee." I said coolly. I dropped his hand quickly and looked back over at Rose.

"Sorry, again." I said. She nodded quickly and smiled, but the smile didn't really reach her eyes. I felt something inside me deflate when she looked away and cast her eyes around for something to pretend to be interested in.

"Well, it's getting to be six." Luke said, an annoying grin on his face. "Rose? Can I escort you to the office?"

"Yes. Thank you, Luke." She said. She cast me one more glance and then turned, allowing Luke to catch up with her at the corner of the corridor.

"Nice meeting you, Scorpius." Luke called back at me. And then he was gone, Rose disappearing with him. I stood there in the hallway wondering how Rose had met him when I realized I was going to be late to Auror Training.

"Fuck." I mumbled, ignoring the insulted look of a middle-aged witch passing by me and took off down the hallway.

…

I sprinted into the Headquarters and stopped at Al's side just in time. Rowley was just going down the crowd of trainees and splitting us into pairs as I bent over, hands on my knees, to catch my breath.

"Merlin, Scorp. Did you run all the way here?" Al asked. Dom was staring at me concernedly and I straightened up, my heart still racing.

"My father wasn't in his office." I said between breaths, realizing again how angry I had been at his secretary. Al looked confused and opened his mouth, probably to ask another question, when Rowley came up to the three of us.

"I need pairs, not a trio." He said, glancing at Dom who was standing close to Al and me. She bit her lip nervously as Rowley directed her toward a tall, black haired girl and assigned them as partners. He turned back to us.

"Potter and Malfoy, is it?" He said, eyeing the two of us oddly. "Never thought I'd see a partnership with your names together." Al and I glanced at each other, both us of silently agreeing not to say anything. Rowley nodded once and headed toward the rest of the trainees that needed to find partners.

"Odd bloke, isn't he?" Al muttered, watching Rowley as he went along.

"I ran into Rose on the way back here." I said casually. Al snapped his head toward me and raised his eyebrows.

"And? Did she say anything?"

"Well, I sort of _literally_ ran into her." I mumbled.

"Scorp, I know you've been out of practice but when you sweep a woman off her feet, you don't actually—"

"Shove it." I snapped. Al grinned at his own joke and would probably have said something else equally as _un_funny if Rowley hadn't stepped up onto the stage and cleared his throat loudly. Rowley scanned the trainees and looked up behind us, as if waiting for something. The gilded doors opened and again, the Auror Heads entered the room and went to stand by on the sides of the walls.

"Trainees!" Rowley said enthusiastically. "I hope you've enjoyed your only two days in the Auror Academy where you won't be actually working." In the last two days, we had been given extensive tours of the Auror Headquarters along with learning how the memos worked and the name of each and every Auror in the office and what they were tracking.

"I'm sure more than one of you has been more than happy to sit back and watch the activity that goes on in the office. Well, that time is over. You all came to us for one reason. You want to be part of what allows most wizarding families to sleep without worry at night. You want to be out there, fighting. You want to be hot on the trail of the next big dark wizard and send them straight to Azkaban. Here's where it really begins."

Rowley's speech seemed to have an effect on most of the group. Al had tensed up considerably beside me. Dom was standing up straighter than usual, her chin cocked up as if she was looking down upon her competition. I had subconsciously bit my lip and felt blood in my mouth. The rest of the group shifted slightly while Rowley took the time to admire the group's attention on him. He cleared his throat again.

"In the next three years, you will all discover your strengths. Many of you will excel in stages where others will fail. However, all Aurors," and he sent his eyes roaming over the group again, as if trying to really look at each of us, "…Have to know how to properly duel. I'm assuming you learned from your respective schools what could pass for dueling against another student. In the real world, you're going to have to have many more powerful spells in your arsenal."

"Today, we're going to have a bit of fun. The Heads and I have decided to put you all up to a challenge: a Battle Royal of sorts." A slight murmur rose above the group as trainees whispered to their partners. Al sent an excited look my way and I automatically smirked back at him.

"You'll be dueling in groups of four, one pair against another. Traditionally, Aurors never battle alone unless they are split up and that's how the rules will go today. If one partner falls, the other must finish the duel. Last duo standing wins."

Rowley stepped off of the stage and the Heads moved from their positions to station the pairs around the room. Teddy came over to Al and me and smiled at us encouragingly.

"You two ready?" He asked, waving his hand for us to follow him across the room.

"This is what we've been waiting for, right Scorp?" Al said, whipping around to face me and walking backwards. "Real action!"

"Did they have you battle it out when you were in training?" I asked Teddy. It felt weird asking him a casual question. All the other groups were silent as their Heads positioned them. Teddy smirked and for a second, it was like looking into a bizarre blue-haired mirror image of myself.

"They wouldn't miss the chance to watch some spells fly." He said.

"How'd you do?" Al asked.

Teddy grimaced. "Knocked out in the second round. You lot be careful with each other. Not everyone plays fair." He stopped at the far left corner of the room, directly across from another pair of a tall, hulking blonde boy and a girl that could've been his sister.

"Rowley will lay down the ground rules. Make it a clean fight and make them remember you." Teddy said finally, grasping both our shoulders and joining the other Heads back against the wall. I gripped my wand tightly in my hand, meeting the gaze of the blonde boy. He audibly sniffed and looked away. His sister (I had decided they were related) was looking at anything but Albus and me. Glancing over at Albus, I could see he was mumbling jinxes under his breath. He was unable to keep a wild-looking grin off his face and shot me an excited smile again.

"Now that you've all been paired up, it's only polite courtesy to bow to each other." Rowley boomed from the front of the room. The trainees all looked around with confused faces. I was pretty sure all of us were thinking the same thing. In the event we were battling a seriously evil wizard, I doubted he would take the time to observe proper dueling manners.

"That's an order, trainees!" Rowley barked. As if a giant hand was pushing all of the trainees over, we awkwardly lowered our heads to each other. Rowley grinned on the stage and I noticed he had been joined by the rest of the Auror Heads.

"Very good; now, there are only a few key rules we expect each of you to follow." He began pacing back and forth across the stage with his hands behind his back. "Rule number one, no curses that could seriously harm your opponent. Rule two, no physical contact; wands _only_. And rule number three, we are aiming to win in a fair fight, _no_ unforgiveable curses."

Rowley's eyes roved over the crowd to make sure we had all been listening. There was a kind of energy sparking through the air around us, as if our wands were so excited to be put to proper action, they were making magic without our guidance.

"Let's make this a fair fight, ladies and gentlemen. Now—" But Rowley was cut off by a hand suddenly thrust into the air. It belonged to a burly looking trainee with a buzzed, dark haircut and a very unflattering unibrow. I recognized him as the bloke that had been staring at me the first time the trainees were in a crowd together.

"I don't remember asking for questions, Trainee."

"Just one thing, sir. What do we get if we win?" Al scoffed next to me.

"You're here to learn. You get the experience and the satisfaction that in a real duel, you may just survive." Rowley smiled darkly like he was trying to keep from really yelling at the trainee.

"Wands at the ready!" Rowley carried on as if he hadn't been interrupted. His voice was loud enough to carry out to our group of Albus and myself against the siblings all the way at the other end of the room. All four of us drew our wands and worked ourselves into defensive positions.

"Three, two, one, duel!"

Before Rowley's words could finish echoing around the cavernous space, the room was lit up with different colored spells flashing through the air like a lightning storm. The blonde trainee standing directly across from me barely had time to open his mouth.

"_Locomotor Mortis!_" I shouted. With a flash of blue light, the trainee's eyes widened comically and he fell to the ground, his legs locked together. He angrily shot a jinx at my ankles and I jumped out of the way just as his sister got a Petrificus Totalus to the chest. She froze as she, too, fell to the ground.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Al and I both shouted together. The siblings' wands flew from their hands and straight into ours. The brother was outraged, his upper body thrashing around while his legs remained glued.

"Do over!" He shouted. Teddy appeared behind him looking like he was trying not to laugh.

"There are no do overs in the real world, McKinley. I'm afraid you and your sister are out of the competition." Teddy said. I fought back the smile that was itching to grow on my face as Teddy waved his wand and both McKinleys were able to fully move again. They stalked off to the side of the room where a few other pairs of defeated trainees were dejectedly gathered.

"Well done, you two." Teddy said, smiling at me and Al before returning to the stage. Al was practically skipping now with excitement.

"Did you see her face when she fell over? Merlin, I doubt the other groups are going to be that easy." He said, slightly out of breath from his own energy.

A few minutes later, after the other groups that had lost were cleared off the floor, we were paired up with a new set of opponents. Opposite me was a male trainee that almost rivaled a half giant in size paired with a heavily muscled dark-skinned boy who was scowling at Al.

"Begin!" Rowley shouted from the stage. His grin was almost maniacal in its excitement at the only barely controlled violence in front of him. It was no question why he became the Head Trainer for the Aurors. It seemed like he lived for this stuff.

"_Rictumsempra!_" The half-giant trainee shouted. I barely had time to throw up a shield charm and duck to miss his second jinx, which was fired seconds after the first. Next to me, Al and the second trainee were rapidly firing spells at each other so that they were obscured by the bright lights of the spells and their shields.

"_Tarantallegra!_" I shouted, still on my hands and knees on the floor. My opponent's size was against him. He was too huge to duck out of the way of my spell in time and started performing a complicated looking jig that I was positive he had never practiced before. He stared in mild horror at his dancing feet. His distraction gave me enough time to push myself off the ground.

"_Expelliarmus!_" His wand soared out of his hand jerkily, as he was now doing what looked like the muggle dance "the Macarena", and landed in mine. This time, I couldn't keep the smile off my face. Amazingly, my still nameless opponent was smiling too.

"You got me. Well done. Can you put me right again?" He was being whipped around in a series of turns and I quickly aimed my wand at him.

"_Finite_." His dancing stopped and he collapsed, looking dizzy. I went over to him and offered my hand, hoping I wasn't being stupid for feeling slightly bad. He took my hand and I struggled to pull him to his feet, seeing as there was much of him to go around. Once he was standing, he flashed a grin at me.

"I'm Terrence Mabery. And I promise, I'm not a dancer." I laughed and shook his hand, still feeling the effects of my second victory in me. I felt like running a lap around the room— or five.

"Oi!" Al yelped, thumping me on the back when Terrence and his partner had crossed the room to join the slowly growing crowd of unsuccessful groups. "Making friends with your enemies? Going to shake the hand of every dark wizard we're after?"

I shoved him off of me. "Piss off, Al. He's hardly a dark wizard."

"I know that," Al said. "I just don't want you getting distracted by making friends. We're in the middle of a battle here! This is life or death!" I rolled my eyes at Al's theatrics.

"Al, I'm focused. I promise." I felt the corner of my mouth quirk up. "Besides, we're kicking ass." Al grinned widely and threw an arm around my shoulder again. This time, I didn't fight him.

"Hell yeah, we are!"

Al's energy only grew more plentiful, if that was possible, as we continued to fight against our trainee opponents. It even began to rub off on me. Three victories, four, five, and the two of us felt practically unstoppable. There were only four groups left dueling each other when Al and I were finally matched against Dominique and her partner, whom I had just defeated after no small effort.

"Albus Severus Potter!" Dom shrieked when Albus fired an Aguamenti at her face, ruining her makeup and hair. "You are incorrigible!"

"I always knew you liked me, Dom!" Al laughed, handing her back her wand that he had won and ducking her hand, which was flying after him.

Once Dom and her partner were led off the floor, Rowley came down from the stage to stand between the pairing of Al and myself and the other pairing of a curly haired girl and the bloke from before who had asked a question before the beginning of the "battle".

Rowley applauded slowly, his booming claps louder than the rest of the trainees who were sulkily applauding against the left wall.

"Well done!" Rowley barked. "You four all still have much to learn in the way of dueling for the future. However, your skills have gotten you this far in our annual competition, and for that, I and the Heads congratulate you."

The room was silent. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for Rowley to let the two finalists duel and find out who would be the winners. Rowley seemed to be enjoying the attention on him and finally spoke after a few seconds' pause.

"The rules still apply for the final match. I don't want to see anything but a fair, clean fight. I do expect it to be interesting. And I've made you all wait long enough. It's time to see what you four can do." And finally, Rowley stepped out of the way of our two pairs and backed against the wall in front of the trainees who were crowded around, watching.

"Three, two, one, duel!"

There was no time to prepare. I fired off the first jinx I thought of and immediately threw up a block against a red jet of light— _Stupefy_. This arse was already breaking rules.

"_Petrificus Totalus_!" I shouted. My opponent ducked to the side, narrowly missing being hit and barked out an ugly laugh.

"_Incarcerous!_" He boomed. I rolled on the ground to avoid the black ropes that had sprung out of his wand and got to my feet quickly. He was laughing again.

"Bit like facing the real world, isn't it, Malfoy?"

"How do you know my name?" I demanded, throwing up a block to a nonverbal jinx that he had lazily flicked out of his wand. I fired back, my wand coordinating with my mind as I thought Furnunculus. This time, he was too busy jeering at me to defend himself. He became covered in angry red boils and cried out angrily, feeling his face with his hands before shooting me a furious look.

"You think I don't know who the Malfoys are?" He said, gripping his wand and pointing it at me, though he wasn't using it. Out of the corner of my eye, it looked like Al was winning against the girl. Still, they were fighting ferociously and it seemed like most of the crowd was watching them.

"Better yet, you think I don't know what the Malfoys did?" My opponent looked like he was having a hard time talking through the boils on his face. Still, he shot another nonverbal spell at me and the battle resumed before I had time to think about what he had said.

We were dueling back and forth now, our shield charms the only things protecting us from each other's jinxes while we circled each other. More than once I had to duck to the ground to avoid his rapid spell firing and he took the time to his advantage, using a counter-jinx and clearing his skin.

"It's harder than you thought it would be, isn't it Malfoy?"

"What? Dueling you? I'm having a spectacular time, thanks for asking." I was getting tired of talking while we dueled. It took enough energy to keep up the spells and shields without wasting my breath.

"It's hard not getting what you want right when you want it." He said in an eerily calm voice. "That's something I know about the Malfoys. They don't care who gets in the way of what they want!" He fired off three consecutive jinxes and I blocked them just barely. By this time, my blood was boiling.

"You don't know shit about my family!" I didn't care if the trainers heard me swear.

"_Crucio!_"

I could barely believe my ears as the violently red spell came shooting out of his wand. I threw myself to the ground, watching the red light ricochet off the marble, leaving a blackened scorch mark in its wake.

"Are you fucking insane?" I yelled, getting to my feet again. I felt like I had been stunned. This bloke wasn't serious. He couldn't be. He would stoop low enough as to use an Unforgivable Curse in a training battle just to win, even though he knew he would be sent to Azkaban for it?

"_Aguamenti! Stupefy!_"

As if my arm was acting against my mind, I raised my wand and cast the Protego charm to protect myself from the stream of water coming straight toward me. In my head, I felt like I hadn't moved at all. I was still watching the Cruciatis curse being fired at me from another trainee, frozen in shock.

And then, I registered that the stunning spell hadn't come in contact with my shield charm. On my left, Al fell to the ground, unconscious.

I heard him shout another spell, something I had never heard before. A few people in the crowd watching gasped, their hands over their mouths, as I was hit, too shocked from before to react in time.

I felt something warm and wet underneath my shirt and pressed my hand against my chest. It came away red with blood and, numbly, I realized it was my own. I could tell there was a deep cut now open on my chest and I fell to my knees, gasping, as more cuts appeared all over my skin; blood welling up everywhere. I collapsed onto my side, not caring that I was lying in a small pool of my own blood now. I barely registered Teddy running toward me, flanked by Dominique and several of the trainees, and Rowley surrounding my smiling opponent with a group of Aurors before I blacked out.

Rose's POV:

When a silver glowing swan had appeared literally out of thin air in the middle of Luke's desk, I knew I was having a bad day.

Dom rarely ever sent me messages by Patronus. That's how I knew it was serious when she— or rather her glowing swan— told me to get to St. Mungo's as fast as I could. Now, sitting next to a bed on the Fourth floor of the hospital for Spell Damage, the swan Patronus had been replaced by the real Dominique and she hadn't stopped talking since I had sat down.

"It was awful." She hiccupped in a small voice. There were pink patches on her cheeks and she was wringing her hands nervously in her lap. She hadn't changed out of her training robes and I noticed her left sleeve was singed as if someone had burned it.

"Scorpius and the other boy were talking but we couldn't hear what they were saying. And then he stunned Albus and he—" Dom bit her lip and broke off as she had been doing every time she tried to recount exactly what had happened to Scorpius. I took one of her hands in my own and she relaxed slightly.

"You don't have to try to explain. I know it must have been hard to watch." I said. I tried to keep my voice as soothing as possible like my mum had done when I was being confronted about my secret relationship with Scorpius in sixth year. Even in my emotional state then, my mum's voice had helped to keep me from exploding. I was hoping the same effect would help Dom.

We both glanced at Scorpius on the bed as he rolled onto his back from his side for the dozenth time in the last few minutes. No matter what the Healers tried, they couldn't seem to get Scorpius to lie still, even in his unconscious state. I wondered if he was having bad dreams.

When I had first come into the ward, I had expected to see one of my family members in the bed. Before I had Apparated to the hospital, I had to prepare myself for the possibility that I would see Albus lying still and pale for the second time. Somehow, Scorpius's frail form was even harder to process in my mind than it would be to see one of my cousins'.

He was covered in bandages, though the cuts underneath had healed long ago. I remembered the look of his smooth, pale skin, unmarked and slightly pink, when they had changed the bandages an hour ago. An Auror on the scene had already healed the damage from the curse before he was moved. Still, they didn't want any after effects of the curse to surprise them and so Scorpius remained wrapped up like a mummy. His hair was fanned messily over the pillow, almost blending in with the white surroundings of the hospital sheets. His face looked relaxed while he slept, though every now and then he would wince as if he was in pain again and my heart would jolt uncomfortably in my chest.

"Tell me again why you lot were allowed to duel to the death?" I said. There was a slight edge to my voice and I was surprised to hear it. I had worked so hard to keep myself calm ever since I had sat down but it was slowly becoming harder to conceal what I really felt. I was angry.

"We weren't." Al spoke up from the doorway of the room. Both Dom and I jumped in our seats. He had left almost an hour ago without any kind of explanation. It seemed he was taking Scorpius's injury pretty hard. He stepped into the room and went to stand on the opposite side of the bed. His hair was sticking up even more than usual as if he had been running his hands through it.

"No one was actually supposed to get hurt. That scum Scorp was dueling was insane. They had to subdue him before taking him down to the Wizengamot for questioning." Al's voice sounded hollow and tired. I wanted to reach over to him and comfort him. Somehow I could tell, just as James had felt when Al had been knocked off his broom, that he thought this was his fault.

"How did you find that out?" Dom asked.

"I went to see my dad. I wanted to know if he knew anything about the spell that was used. He only told me a little. He said the effects wouldn't be lasting and that Scorp will be fine as long as they healed him properly. He looked like he…" Al trailed off and slumped into another chair against the wall.

"I should've realized something was wrong." He said. He was so quiet, I could barely hear him over the sound of Healers passing by the room and the rustling of the sheets as Scorpius tossed and turned. As if by habit, I laid my hand down over his bandage-wrapped forearm. Immediately, he stopped fidgeting.

"It wasn't your fault, Albus." Dom said in a stronger voice than I had heard her use all afternoon. "That nutter stunned you before you could help. And he tried to use an Unforgivable curse! I don't think he would have let anything get in his way if the Aurors hadn't stepped in—"

"Don't you think, Dominique that in a real battle a dark wizard might try to stun me before I can be useful? They're not going to be polite and wait for us to prepare ourselves! That was the whole fucking point—"

"Shut it, both of you!" I snapped. I realized I was probably gripping Scorpius's arm too tightly now and I let go. For a moment, I wondered if he would move again but he remained still. I focused on his chest rising and falling slowly and matched my breathing to his. Jokingly, I thought for probably the first time in his life, Scorpius was the calmest person in the room.

"Albus, this wasn't your fault. Don't try to explain why it is, because it just isn't." I said. Al opened his mouth to argue but I sent a glare his way and he abruptly shut up. "Dom, why don't we stop talking about it? None of this is going to help him when he wakes up."

But now Dom was glaring at me. "You won't even say his name." She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. The patches on her cheeks were brighter than before. "I know you're worried about him. I can see it in your face. He's not even awake and you won't say his name!"

"…he _is_ awake and he's wondering why everyone is yelling."

All three of us jumped at the sound of Scorpius's voice and turned our attention to the bed. He looked like he was struggling to keep his eyes open and his eyebrows were scrunched together. Still, he was already trying to sit up.

"Shit!" He groaned, and he fell back to the bed. Dom shot up from her seat. Albus was already standing over the bed, the worried look in his eyes contradicted by the relieved smile on his face.

"I'll get the Healer." I said, standing up quickly and crossing the room. I couldn't stay there. Not when he was waking up. Not when he would see me and wonder why I was there. What would I say to him after almost two years of silence?

As I fast-walked down the hallway looking for the Healer of the ward, I tried to ignore what Dom had said. I did say Scorpius's name. I just didn't say it out loud. This had seemed perfectly reasonable behavior up until about five minutes ago. I leaned against the wall and sighed, twirling the end of my ponytail around my finger. Dom just didn't understand. What were you supposed to say to someone when you couldn't even say their name out loud?

Scorpius's POV:

I hated the smell of the hospital. My father had taken me with him when we had visited my grandmother on my mother's side the day she had died. I remembered gripping onto his hand tightly and tripping over my own feet to keep up while I whipped my head around, staring at the Healers passing by with strange potions and instruments in their hands. My mother hadn't even let me stay in the waiting room while my father talked to the welcome witch. I barely caught a glimpse of a wizard with his feet on backwards repeatedly stumbling into a wall before she picked me up and carried me away.

I didn't remember much else about that visit. I was too young to really understand why my mother was crying so much after my grandmother had died. Still, the smell of the hospital lingered with me. The clean, almost bitter stench that permeated the sheets of the bed and the air around me never left my mind.

That's how I knew where I was the minute I woke up. I could recognize that smell anywhere. I resisted throwing up and tried to open my eyes, but they felt heavy. The effort was almost enough to put me back to sleep.

I heard voices as I continued waking up. I couldn't tell if I knew whom they belonged to or if they were Healers. I really hoped it wasn't the latter. The Healers scared the shit out of me when I was little. I tried to listen harder so I could make out what the voices were saying.

"They're not going to be polite and wait for us to prepare ourselves! That was the whole fucking point—"

Immediately, I knew that was Al. There was no mistaking his voice. I could almost picture the way he was standing just from hearing him. But he sounded angry. Not even just angry— he sounded furious. I wondered who he was yelling at.

I felt myself roll over on what I assumed was a bed beneath me and face the voices. I was still too groggy to try and figure out who it was that the rest of them belonged to. It seemed like my body was frustrated with my brain for its lack of sense at the moment. I couldn't stop tossing around like a frustrated child.

Then I felt something on my arm. Someone's fingers had lightly wrapped themselves around my forearm, just above my wrist. I stopped moving— something I had been trying to do for the last few hurried seconds— and listened intently.

"Shut it, both of you!" A female voice said sharply. I didn't know how I knew, but this hand belonged to that voice. And even though my mind was working about as well as it used to in Potions class, I could tell this voice was important to me.

"Albus, this wasn't your fault. Don't try to explain why it is, because it just isn't." There was a slight pause and I almost laughed as I pictured what Al's reaction might be. I knew he didn't take shit from anyone, he was almost as cocky as me, and thought it must be one of his family members.

"Dom, why don't we stop talking about it?" The voice said again. Her voice. I could tell it was a girl. "None of this is going to help him when he wakes up."

I felt like a piece of ice was slipping down my throat and into my stomach when I realized who it was. Or who I was hoping it would be when I could finally open my eyes. Merlin, I hoped it was her. Just knowing she had actually come to my sickbed made the tight ache of my skin and bones lessen.

"You won't even say his name. I know you're worried about him. I can see it in your face." I was broken out of my thoughts about Rose by a voice so shrill I couldn't miss it if I tried. I wasn't sure why it had taken me so long to realize that Dominique was a part of those gathered around me. She sounded seriously pissed, which wasn't much of a contrast from what she was like the last time I saw her. Somehow, I didn't think she was still angry about getting a water curse to the face via Al.

The atmosphere in the room had gotten suddenly tenser. Even I could feel it, and my senses were worth absolute shit in the state I was in. I figured it was about time I made another grasp for consciousness and kept whatever fight that was brewing from happening.

"He's not even awake and you won't say his name!" Dom shrieked. I forced my eyes open and resisted shutting them immediately at the bright lamps lit around the room.

"He _is_ awake, and he's wondering why everyone is yelling." I said. I internally winced at my voice which came out cracking more than it had during puberty— a dark age for me. I ignored the stunned faces of Rose, Al and Dominique around me and adjusted my arms to push myself into a sitting position.

It was a bad idea right away. My skin felt tight and stretched, like it might open and start gushing blood again. A sharp throb of pain pulsed through my body.

"Shit!" I fell back to the bed and tried to stop myself from throwing up. Al's face loomed over me with a dumb smile. On my other side I could see Dominique reaching for my pillow to fluff it and fluttering her hands around nervously. Rose mumbled something and left. I barely caught the sight of her red curls whipping away as she practically ran out the door before she was gone. Some dull, numb part of my chest told me that she probably wasn't going to come back.

"Son of a bitch." Al muttered, shaking his head. He had leaned back out of my face and was now standing next to my bed. "If you didn't look half dead right now, I'd punch you."

It was all I could do to stare up at him, slightly bewildered but all the same, not surprised. "You think I wouldn't punch you back?"

"You can't even sit up. You're getting soft, Scorp." Al's smile had returned, wider than even before. "Fuck. Never do that again. You had me scared shitless."

"Never do what? Duel a lunatic?" I broke off to sit up again, this time preparing myself for the wave of nausea to pass. Al and Dom both visibly tensed as if waiting for me to pass out. I took a deep breath once I was sitting upright and turned to Al again.

"Hate to break it to you mate, but we're training to be Aurors. We're going to be dealing with a lot of nut cases in the next twenty years." I forced a smirk onto my face even though I still felt like I was turning fuzzy around the edges.

Al let out a laugh, the stupid smile back on his face.

"You two alright then?" I said, glancing down at my bandages and wondering if they were really necessary. It didn't look or feel like I was bleeding.

"Are _we _alright?" Al's face looked disbelieving. "You were on the ground bleeding to death and you're wondering if we're feeling okay?"

"You got stunned. I didn't have time to block it for you." I said pointedly. Al rolled his eyes.

"I'm fine. Fit as a hippogriff. Dom did her hair and makeup again— ouch! Stop doing that!" Al yelped as Dom slapped his shoulder. I tentatively reached for the bandage wrapped around my forearm— the one Rose had touched— and was fiddling with the end of it when a Healer came striding into the room.

"Not so fast, Mister Malfoy!" She was probably in her mid-forties with graying brown hair and a pinched expression like she was permanently having to clean up the messes in the waiting room. She tapped her wand against some papers posted next to my wall and squinted to read writing that appeared as if someone's invisible hand and quill was reporting my condition.

"Er… sorry." I mumbled. I dropped my hands to my sides and tried not to shift around too much while the Healer started poking my shoulder with her wand none too gently. Al and Dom watched quietly; Al stifling laughter when the Healer stuck her wand under my armpit to check my temperature.

"Your vitals are back to normal. There doesn't seem to be any bleeding or side effects apart from nausea." The Healer tapped her wand against the papers and the writing disappeared. She glanced back at me with a somewhat softer expression. "You're free to leave."

She quickly turned to the doorway like she couldn't wait to be gone. "Wait," I called out. She turned, looking annoyed again. I wondered if I had done something while I was unconscious that had pissed her off. Did I drool on her? "How much should I leave for the room?"

She drew a clipboard out of the pocket of her robes that shouldn't have fit inside and glanced through the papers attached to it.

"This room and the attention to your wounds have already been paid for. You only have to check out with the Welcome Witch."

"Already paid for?" I repeated dumbly. I glanced over at Al who looked as confused as me. "Is there a name?"

"It says here a Mister Draco Malfoy. I really must be getting back to my work, Mister Malfoy. Please keep in mind that this room needs to be available to other sick and injured people." The Healer finally turned and left, somehow leaving me with the guilty feeling that it was all my fault I had been cursed and had to be taken to hospital. I shook my head and threw the covers off, slipping out of the bed.

"What's got her wand stuck up her arse?" Al said jokingly. He glanced back at me and turned quickly around as if he had just remembered something. "I brought you clothes from the flat. The Auror office said to take the rest of the day off. Training's been cancelled anyway. They're looking into the bloke you dueled."

He tossed my wand, a sweatshirt, and jeans onto the bed and I grabbed them. Dom hurried out of the room as I pulled off my Auror Academy shirt which was still covered in some pretty gross blood stains. I glanced at it with mild disgust and tossed it on the ground.

"I asked my dad if they'd found anything out about him." Al said conversationally, ducking down to pick up my bloodied shirt. "Grandma Weasley could get these out in about a minute." He gestured to the stains and folded the shirt, stuffing it into the pocket of his robes. I didn't doubt him. Molly Weasley was a force to be reckoned with when it came to stains. I'd seen her work out grass stains from James' Quidditch Uniform that seemed hopeless.

"Do they have a name?" I asked. I was pulling on the jeans now with great difficulty considering my stomach continued to protest at any movement I made. Al chuckled at me while I almost fell over trying to shove my right foot into a pant leg.

"My dad only said 'Goyle'. I'd probably be barking mad if that was my name too." Al said, twirling his wand around his fingers. I threw a half-hearted punch at his shoulder when I was finished and we exited the room, looking for Dominique.

"Oi! Dom!" Al shouted as we caught a glimpse of Dominique's blonde hair around the corner. "We're leaving, you coming back to the flat?"

Dom came trotting down the corridor. She glanced back at where she had come from and turned back to us with an expression that said she was seriously pissed.

"I'm going to head home. I have something to work out. I hope you feel better soon, Scorpius." She threw her arms around me in a hug and I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out at the stiff pain that followed. She gave Albus an equally enthusiastic hug and turned down the corridor out of sight.

"I'd shell out every last Galleon I owned if it meant I could figure out what she was doing all the time." Al mumbled, shaking his head and heading down the length of the hall. I followed, walking stiffly and clutching my wand tightly in my hand.

Al babbled on about how the Aurors had reacted and what had happened after I blacked out. I was only half listening. I kept thinking about what the Healer had said. Draco Malfoy had paid for my room.

Why had my father, whom I hadn't talked to or seen in weeks, voluntarily paid for a hospital room when he had made it clear anything that happened to me in Auror Training was my own decision? And how had he found out? I assumed someone had been told to alert him that his son was injured, but I hadn't thought he would act on it.

I almost expected to see him sitting in the waiting room. I was probably still loopy from my near-death experience if I thought my father in his dark robes and practically regal posture would fit in with the lot of catastrophe-ridden wizards and witches sitting in the room. Al stupidly stared at a witch whose skin was rapidly changing colors no matter how much the wizard next to her, whom I assumed was her husband, waved his wand and shouted things. I nudged him hard in the ribs and signed my name on the Welcome Witch's notepad quickly. All I wanted to do was get out of St. Mungo's and forget about the business with my father.

If he had been close enough to pay for my room the minute I had been moved to St. Mungo's, it made sense that he would have been in his office all along this morning. I thought about trying again at the Ministry and barging through his door this time, bossy secretary or not. But that would be stupid, and I had made enough stupid decisions for a lifetime.

Al side-along Apparated us to the flat and after I became sick in my bathroom toilet, he vowed to visit the Leaky Cauldron and not come back unless he was laden down with enough drinks for the rest of the evening.

I tossed my wand onto my bed in my room, not bothering to throw back the curtains on my window. I was pretty sure the room hadn't seen actual sunlight in about a month. I wouldn't be surprised if mold grew.

I pulled my now soiled shirt over my head and threw it on the floor, rummaging through my drawers to find a new one. I pushed aside the purple and gold socks and my old Slytherin scarf until my hand came in contact with something papery.

With difficulty, owing to the fact that I had never learned to properly fold clothes and my drawer was overflowing, I pulled out a crumpled envelope. I recognized the long, slanted writing in jade ink on the front. My father had written to me.

"Will Master Scorpius be needing to send a reply?" A squeaky voice spoke up behind me. Instinctively, I whirled around, grabbing the nearest object that could be used as a weapon off the top of my drawers and flattening myself against the wall.

Binny the house elf stood in the center of my bed. His pillow case had a weird raspberry colored stain on the front and I winced. House-Elf Law made it clear that it was forbidden to keep an elf from wearing clothes. Still, Binny came from a long line of Malfoy-family elves and still refused to go near my sock drawer unless it was to put them away.

"Merlin, Binny! You scared the shit out of me." I gasped, lowering my weapon. Looking in my hand, I realized I had grabbed a rolled up copy of _Which Broomstick_. Terrifying.

"Binny is sorry, Master Scorpius!" He squeaked, bowing deeply.

"Are you alright? What's the stain from?" I asked. Binny glanced down at his pillowcase in mild surprise as if he hadn't realized it wasn't in the same pristine condition he usually kept it in.

"Binny is making raspberry pie for Mistress Astoria! She asks for them when she feels upset, she told Binny. Mistress Astoria also asks Binny to pass along her love for Master Scorpius." I felt a pang in my chest and reached a hand up to my hair. I hadn't seen my mum in what felt like ages.

"Tell her I miss her. I'll write to her soon." I said. Binny nodded fervently.

"And what about Master Draco?" Binny asked tentatively. I huffed out a sigh and crumbled the envelope still in my other hand. Slackening my fingers, I let it fall to the ground.

"I'm not reading it." I said. Binny shifted uncomfortably on his spindly legs. I was surprised he hadn't tripped over the unmade sheets yet, but past experience told me if I offered a seat to him, he wouldn't be able to look me in the eye for the next ten minutes.

"Master Scorpius must not rush into hasty decisions. Master Draco was most concerned when he heard the news of Master Scorpius's injuries." Binny said quickly.

"I'm not reading it." I repeated bluntly. "I won't need a reply written. You can get back to your pies."

Binny sighed as if he had failed somehow. I wondered if my father had actually sent him to deliver a letter amongst my clothes where there was only a slim chance I would find it right away once I was home. Then again, Binny was my house elf. He had always been something of a friend at the manor. I had no idea my father had ever picked up on the fact that the elf was somewhat special to me.

"Binny," I said suddenly, stopping him before he could snap his fingers and disappear. "It's good to see you."

Binny smiled widely. "Binny has missed Master Scorpius! Will Master Scorpius be returning to the Manor soon?"

I bit the inside of my cheek. "I don't know. Maybe. I'll be in touch." And with that, Binny turned on the spot, disappearing with a loud crack and leaving me somewhat alone.

"Scorp!" Al called from the front of the flat. I hadn't even heard him Apparate back. I grabbed my wand from my bed and shuffled out to the hall.

"I hope you bought out the Leaky Cauldron, Al. I need a drink right now."

But Al wasn't alone. He was accompanied by not only two humongous bottles of Firewhiskey, but by Rose. She stood by the doorway as if rooting herself somewhere she could make a quick escape. Al whistled cheerily and crossed the room to the counter.

"I ran into Rose in Diagon Alley. She asked to come back. But I won't be here long, Giselle wants to meet back in the bar for drinks." Al rambled on. I was barely listening to him. My feet had glued themselves to the floor and I couldn't look away from Rose.

She bit her lip nervously, glancing over at Al. She was still wearing her Ministry Robes and a pile of papers was tucked in the crook of her arm. Both of us watched Al as he pulled out two glasses from the cupboard and continued whistling off-key. He started when he realized we were both staring at him.

"Have I got something on my face?" He cracked a grin and slid a full glass of whiskey down the counter to me.

"Anyway, I've got to get going. Giselle's waiting. Rose, you're welcome to stay as long as you like. Scorp, don't drink too much." He clapped me on the shoulder, pulled Rose into a one-armed hug, and was out the door in seconds.

Blindly, I moved to the counter and gripped the glass in my hand. Rose stayed by the door, gripping her wand and her papers tightly. It seemed insane that only this morning, I had knocked her to the floor.

"Er, I'm sorry again about this morning—" I started. But Rose cut me off practically before I had begun.

"I need to talk to you."

**A/N: Let me start off by apologizing profusely for the fact that I haven't updated as regularly as I wanted to start off this story! I'm currently in the busiest year of my life so far in the school year with dance and my classes. I've had to find time to squeeze in writing when I'm not busy and I hope this long chapter makes it up to you guys! I don't have much else to say other than it's a super beautiful day outside right now and I'm very much looking forward to the holidays now that's it's Autumn! Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! Your reviews are what keeps this story alive and it helps me as an author to know if you guys are enjoying where the plot is going! So keep reviewing and please let me know what you think! I love each and every one of you! **

**~yours in eternity, xx Amy**


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